Amazon, Burlew, Pirates, Romance, and Rowling

[alanajoli]

I was going to write up something about the SFWA's removal of Amazon links from their Web site due to the current IPG/Amazon throwdown, but then I realized that a lot of people have had a lot more intelligent things to say about the whole situation, including the SFWA itself. UK publishers are also getting into the mix, and my favorite article, by Los Angeles Times contributor Carolyn Kellogg, compares IPG's move to the Boston tea party.

So, let's get rid of those Wild West metaphors for the e-book scene and instead make comparisons to the American Revolution from now on, okay?

In other news:

• Teen say they're just not that into e-books, but YA books sold five times as much in digital as in print last year, according to Karen Springen in PW. (Must be all us grown ups buying YA novels...)
• J. K. Rowling is lined up for a new adult novel.
• Maria Bustillos wrote a very long look into romance novels and why they're awesome over on The Awl.
• Greg Sandoval of CNet shares snippets from the nonfiction work Gotham to explain how American publishing was founded by literary pirates -- publishers of the past hired merchants to buy British books and transport them back to New York, where they then made American editions and sold them without paying the British publishers a dime. At the time, U.S. law only protected American copyright.
• And lastly, a huge congratulations to Rich Burlew for his phenomenal Kickstarter success, which PW talks about here. If you haven't been able to get a hold of Rich's out of print Order of the Stick books, it won't be long 'til they'll be back on the shelves.

Hope everyone has a delightful March 1st!